According to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, Aker BP has made an offshore natural gas discovery in the 7324/6-2 exploration well, known as “Ferdinand Nord,” in the Barents Sea.
This well is the first in production license 1170, awarded in 2022 (APA 2021), and was drilled by the Scarabeo 8 rig. The estimated size of the discovery ranges between 3.3 – 4.7 MMboe.
Geologically, the primary exploration target was to find oil and gas in the Middle Jurassic to Upper Triassic reservoir rocks in the Stø and Fruholmen formations. The secondary target was to find oil and gas in the Upper Triassic Snadd Formation.
The well encountered a 12 m gas column in the Stø Formation with good to very good reservoir quality, but no reservoir rock in the Fruholmen Formation. Additionally, a 6 m gas column with moderate reservoir quality was found in the Snadd Formation, along with 40 m of sandstone with poor reservoir quality and traces of hydrocarbons.
The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data and samples were collected. It reached a vertical depth of 1246 m below sea level and was terminated in the Snadd Formation. The water depth at the drilling site is 422 m. The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.
